The Missing Referee

Croke Park Mice: The Missing Referee 

By Ruth and Triona Croke

Illustrated by Audrey Dowling

Published by O'Brien Press

A GAA picture book for children.

Do you know the secret about Croke Park? When there are no games happening on the pitch, the Croke Park mice play their own games there! Right out in the middle of the pitch!  There are thirty-two mice, one from each county in Ireland. They live under the stands and watch every match from their tiny mouse holes.

But on the day of the All-Ireland final, the referee is nowhere to be found! Can the Croke Park mice find the referee in time to save the day - and the match? 

About the authors

Ruth Croke learned to read at the age of three and hasn’t stopped reading since! She works in Ireland and New York as a marketing and public relations consultant. She loves all animals and as a member of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, she has rescued many pets over the years.  

Triona Croke lives between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. Regardless of her travels, to this day her favourite destination is her imagination, where she finds all sorts of creatures having remarkable adventures.

About the illustrator

Audrey Dowling is a French artist and illustrator living in County Kilkenny. She initially pursued a career in the fashion industry in Paris but somehow ended up in the Irish countryside. Her surroundings inspire her work, as well as folklore from all cultures, fairy tales and vintage imagery.